On June 9, 2002 plaintiff’s decedent Robert Earl Long Sr., 62, disabled, was admitted to Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee. On the third day of his hospitalization Long complained of pain in his back and right side. His treating physician administered to him Fioricet with codeine. About two hours later, Long Sr. complained that he could not breathe and clutched his chest. Doctors responded but Long soon died.On behalf of Long’s estate, his son sued Tallahassee Medical Center, Inc., operating as Capital Regional Medical Center, for medical malpractice, seeking wrongful death damages. The estate’s attorney contended that the doctors knew that Long was allergic to codeine. He offered the testimony of his wife who claimed that she explicitly informed Long’s physicians of this well before he was administered the drug.Plaintiff’s expert, Lori Black, a registered nurse, testified that codeine would be harmful given Long’s medical records which indicated he sometimes suffered from itching as a mild reaction to codeine. She also criticized the way the Capital maintained its medical records.
The estate’s attorney alleged that the physician administering Codeine was the proximate cause of Long’s death. Plaintiff’s pathology expert, Carl Williams, testified that Long died of a delayed reaction to Codeine.
Capital claimed that it was appropriate to administer codeine to Long. Treating nurses who monitored him an hour before he died testified that he appeared fine. Defense counsel also offered testimony from Long’s treating physician that Long did not mention any allergic reactions to codeine when he took his history. Defense nursing expert Cindy Stuart testified that Long’s treating nurses were correct in relying on his statements that he was not allergic to Codeine.
Defense counsel argued that the codeine was not the proximate cause of Long’s death, but rather it was his preexisting cardiac condition, which included a valve replacement, that was the cause of death. Defense cardiology expert Hall Whitworth testified that Long had preexisting artery disease placing him at risk for sudden death independent of any codeine usage. Defense pharmacology expert Paul Doering testified that Long did not present the signs of a codeine allergic reaction such as redness in the face, sweating and trouble breathing. He added that such a reaction would occur immediately, not two hours later.
Defense counsel also presented testimony that detailed Long’s autopsy, which revealed the Long had a 90% occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, thickened heart wall muscle and an enlarged heart. And on cross-examination of the plaintiff’s pathology expert, Carl Williams, defense counsel noted Williams’ lack of experiencedealing with allergic reactions of this manner.
Long died on his third day of hospitalization. On behalf of his estate, his son, Kristopher Long, 20, sought wrongful death damages. During summation, plaintiff’s counsel suggested an award in the range of $500,000 to $1 million.
The jury found that the hospital was not liable.
The plaintiffs are appealing the verdict.